Global demand for shale gas was valued at USD 63 billion in 2014 is expected to reach USD 105 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of around 9% between 2015 and 2020.

Zion Research has published a new report titled “Shale Gas Market by Technology (Horizontal Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing, and Water Usage Issue) for Power Generation, Residential, Industrial, Commercial, Transportation and Other Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2014-2020.” According to the report, the global demand for shale gas was valued at USD 63 billion in 2014 is expected to reach USD 105 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of around 9% between 2015 and 2020. In terms of volume, the global Shale Gas Market stood at around 10.0 trillion cubic feet in 2014.

Shale gas is also known as natural gas and it is derived from shales. Shale is fine-grained sedimentary rocks and it is highly loaded resources of petroleum and natural gas. Shale gas is generally obtained from the various shales like are marcellus, eagle ford, niobrara, barnett, and bakken. It is primarily used as a feedstock for production of ammonia and ethane gas. To extract shale gas from the source rock, the oil and gas industry uses two proven techniques: horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting high-pressure water to crack the source rock and release the natural gas it contains. 99.5% of the injection fluid is a mixture of water and sand, while the rest is a small quantity of additives needed to prevent bacterial contamination of the reservoir and make the process more efficient.

The major driving factor for shale gas market is rapidly increasing demand across the world. In an attempt to lower down dependence on crude oil as source of energy, U.S. is highly focused on shale gas. Moreover, government funding coupled with large investment by many private players is expected to fuel the growth of this industry. However, high cost of production as compared to any other conventional source of energy is expected to limit the growth of this industry. However, ongoing research & development and introduction of new technologies in the field of shale gas are expected to bring down cost of production. Large number of proven reserves for shale gas in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific is expected to provide future growth opportunity to industry participants.

Horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and water usage issue are the key technologies involved in the shale gas extraction process. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are extensively used for extraction process across the globe. Power generation, residential, industrial, commercial, and transportation are the key applications of shale gas market. Industrial applications segment was the largest segment of global shale gas industry and accounted for more than 30% share of the entire market in 2014. The power generation is the second largest application segment for the global shale gas market. Residential applications segment is also expected to exhibit rapid growth during the forecast period.

North America dominated the production and consumption of shale gas in 2014. North America accounted for over 75% share in production and consumption of shale gas in 2014. North America. North America is followed by Europe and Asia Pacific respectively. However, with commencement of shale gas production in China, growth of shale gas industry in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a robust growth. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are expected to remain smallest regional market for shale gas during the forecast period.